


Press

by roseprice612



Series: humanity is for robots, too [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Basically, Connor Deserves Happiness, Father-Son Relationship, Hank is Protective, Press and Tabloids, Sumo is a therapy dog, aftermath of Corruption, he sad :(, just fluff dad and son!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-21 07:16:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14910824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseprice612/pseuds/roseprice612
Summary: Everyone: let’s give Connor too much responsibility too quick and not look into the obvious tracking and corruption by Cyberlife :)Connor: (is given too much responsibility too quick, has corrupted programming)Hank: look at that. youve given ‘im anxiety.Basically this whole fic. Markus is a kind boyo (but we knew that), Connor has anxiety and Hank is a nanny. Also kudos to that one wonderful comment (NinjaSalad) who said Sumo’s like a therapy dog. Now he’s a therapy doggo no one can stop me.





	1. Statement

The four of them sat in one of the more secret rooms of the church, around a long table. It was back to the yelling and shouting, but Markus tried staying as calm as he could.

"We need a statement, Markus!" North was saying. "People will turn on us if we don't take a stance at all!"

Markus rubbed his face in his hands. This conversation had been going on for a week now, and it didn't look to be stopping anytime soon. "This is definitely a lot worse for Connor than it is for us." He managed. He must have repeated himself about a hundred times.

"I disagree." Josh stuck in. "We've been in contact with Hank, he's still at the clinic. He hasn't woken up yet, he has no idea this is happening. Besides, we have the whole world on our tail."

Markus stood. He needed to make a decision, but he still didn't know what side to take. He wasn't usually this indecisive, but he couldn't attack Connor or defend him. "We need to be neutral." He said. "Make it clear we'll be looking into the issue, but that we trust it's nothing more than a system malfunction."

"Markus, he tried to kill you, twice!" North countered. "We can't give him our affiliation, just cut him off!"

"I second that." Josh muttered. Markus looked out the window. It was serious when Josh and North agreed wholeheartedly on something. But Markus still couldn't bring himself to follow their advice. Connor had won the rebellion with them, and they couldn't have done it without him. It didn't make sense to cut him off just like that. In fact, Markus worried for him - ever since the Battle he'd been distant, always making sure to never get too warm to any of them. It didn't even seem like he entirely accepted Hank.

The door to the room burst open, and in ran one of the activists that frequented the church. "Markus, Connor was just seen outside the clinic!"

Markus glanced back at North, Josh, and Simon. "Was he alone? When did this happen?"

"He was with his caretaker - Lieutenant Anderson. And at eight thirty, just an hour ago."

This changed things a little bit. Markus had to release a statement _now_ , before Connor could say anything. He doubted he would, but it wasn't worth risking. "Organize a press meeting." Markus ordered. "I'll release an official statement in an hour."

———————

The car stopped and the silence exploded.

Connor had heard about the concept of silence being loud, but never did he actually believe it until now. Hank's ancient car rested in park, turned off too, but neither of them made a move to leave.

As soon as they had made an attempt to leave the clinic, reporters perked up and chased them all the way to their car. Connor thought he'd been inconspicuous, with his big winter coat and the furry hood up, but apparently they'd been waiting outside for a week to ambush anyone who left. The entire drive home had been completely silent, the both of them just thinking and worrying about what they were going to do.

"Alright." Hank turned to Connor, seemingly decided. "We're going to go inside, you're gonna power down for the night - I don't care if Androids don't need sleep, you need to rest right now - and I'm going to sleep too. We'll figure all this out in the morning."

Hank opened his door and got out, so Connor took a deep breath to calm himself and followed. Sumo jumped out after him, running through the snow that fell steadily and woofing loudly. For a moment, Connor worried about the reporters finding them again - they'd lost them a few streets down, but such a recognizable dog as Sumo would surely give them away. Connor grabbed his collar and tugged him inside.

Connor automatically went for the couch, to power down for the night, but Hank already sat there, watching tv. "Uh-" He still had no idea how he was supposed to address Hank, so he let the uh hang in the air. "You said I had to..."

"Yeah." Hank didn't look over, and Sumo jumped onto the couch beside him. "We're gonna sleep here. I want to keep an eye on the news."

And so Connor lodged himself between the end of the couch and Sumo, actually liking how comforting Sumo's body felt on top of his lap. He was something akin to a therapy dog then, keeping Connor's hands petting him and his mind on how soft he was instead of whatever was going to happen to his reputation.

"Oh, fuck." Hank grumbled beside him, probably at whatever was happening on the news. Connor looked up from Sumo.

 _"Due to the attack on the USS Titan in the Arctic, President Warren has gone to Congress and declared war on Russia."_ The reporter on the tv was saying, showing imagery behind her of the USS Titan and the Russian warships. Hank had his hands pressed together tightly. _"As of right now, the state of Alaska is on federal lockdown and the rest of the states await action. US Marines and Infantrymen have been deployed to the Arctic region. We await more updates."_

"Shit," Hank looked awkward not holding a beer can while he worried. Connor was glad he wasn't, but that's about as far as his gladness went. War on top of everything that was happening? Has President Warren lost her mind?

 _"Breaking news."_ The tv flashed back up, and a different reporter was frantically shuffling papers. Connor froze when the captions started and she looked up. _"Android leader Markus will be releasing his official statement on the RK800 dilemma in just five minutes. We patiently await his thoughts."_

Connor stood quickly, almost knowing Sumo off the couch. His hand was back to fiddling with the coin, but this time it didn't lessen his anxiety. It was taking him over, frying his brain until all he could do was pace and barely hold in a scream.

"Connor!" A slap to the face stopped him in his tracks, and so Connor looked up and met Hank's eyes. "Everything's going to be fine. Sit down, we can watch what he has to say together."

"No. I can't." Connor shook his head and broke away from Hank. "Tell me in the morning. I'm going to sleep. I can't watch it."

Hank's phone rung on the other side of the room. Connor jolted, but Hank just sent him a weird look and walked to it. "It's Markus." He said, flicking his eyes up to Connor. "I'm answering it."

"No!" Connor breathed, reaching out and stepping forward as Hank answered and held the phone out on speaker.

"Hello?" Was Markus' voice, slightly staticky, on the other end. "Hank, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. You're supposed to be on tv in like two minutes, what's up?" Hank kept staring at Connor, who'd taken the coin out of his pocket to roll it between his fingers.

A sigh echoed on the other side. "I needed to check in on Connor before the speech, I've been trying to reach you for an hour. How is he? Is everything alright? Is he there?"

Hank nodded, almost to himself. "He's alright. A little shaken up, I think, but alright. Are you gonna trash him, is that why you're calling?"

"No, no, I-" Someone shouted for Markus to go, and Hank sighed impatiently. "I have to go. If Connor's there, tell him I want to meet as soon as possible. And that I hold nothing against him. None of this was his fault. I have to go."

The line beeped off, and the tv lit up with the urgent news. That same reporter from before was back on screen, saying something about the press conference beginning and background about the situation. Then it changed to a stage with Markus walking to the podium, and the frantic questions began. Connor didn't have time to be anxious. The questions had already started, and Markus began.

"First, I'd like to apologize for the lateness of my reply to this situation." Markus began. Connor sat back down on the couch, and Sumo crawled onto his lap. "To be frank, I did not know what side to take. Although it is inexcusable for someone to make an attempt upon my life, or anyone's life for that matter, I trust Connor."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. Hank glanced at Connor's face and sat on the couch beside him. Markus didn't skip a beat. "Still I feel the need to explain further into what I believe really happened. In the first prototypes of RK800, it was to follow all orders exactly. It was the most advanced Android Cyberlife has ever released, so the engineers kept a very close eye on it. However, when Connor made it to Jericho and pointed a gun at my head, I treated him exactly the same way I had the rest of the Androids I'd encountered. Fortunately, he joined us. I had not a doubt from there on out that Connor would fight for us, and Connor did in fact volunteer himself on a suicide mission into the Cyberlife tower. I am confident that we would not have won the rebellion without him."

Connor felt tears spring in his eyes, but he couldn't look away from the tv. Sumo sat up and licked his cheek, whining. Connor patted his head until he laid back down.

"This does not, of course, excuse the recent behavior." Markus glanced only once down at his notecards. "It is completely unexpected and wrong that an assault upon Connor's caretaker should take place. I am still unsure of the exact circumstance which led up to that moment, but I am positive that both law enforcement and the clinic has cleared it up. Both Connor and the caretaker are unhurt and well."

The audience erupted again. Hank grumbled and stood, walking to the fridge and snatching a beer. Connor flinched when he popped it open and took a swig, but didn't pay much mind to it. "I can't believe this." He groaned. "Callin' me your caretaker. It's accurate, but I sound like some goddamn nanny."

"Yes?" Markus answered a raised hand in the audience. Hank sat back down.

 _"Have you been in contact with RK800?"_ The journalist asked. The rest of them rose up around him, but Markus leaned forward to the mic and they all quieted.

"Briefly. I spoke with Connor's caretaker as soon as I heard he had been released from the clinic. They're both resting now."

_"Markus! Markus, do you plan to banish RK800 from the Android Rights group?"_

Connor closed his eyes and leaned back. The room seemed to stand still for a long moment, as the tv roared on. Hank took a long chug of beer, trying to forget about this press conference and the exposing from Cyberlife.

"As of right now, Connor will be suspended from our organization." Markus had to shout over all the journalists. "I plan to meet with him as soon as possible and discuss in depth the nature of what happened, and if it is likely to happen in the future."

_"Markus, over here! Explain the assassination attempts."_

But Markus didn't seem to be wanting to answer any more questions, and stepped down from the podium. The journalists still threw questions at him, furiously begging for answers and information. Connor was grateful he stepped down then; he didn't know what'd happen if he kept going along with their wishes. Before Connor could even think about everything Markus had said, Hank was turning off the tv and standing up. 

"Time to sleep." He looked down expectantly. “I don’t know how the hell you do it, but power down.”

“But-” Connor sat up, trying to argue back. “You can’t possibly expect me to sleep after that I just saw and heard.”

“What’re you gonna do it not sleep? Try and track down Markus? Stay up and worry? I don’t think so,” Hank chugged the rest of his beer and set it on the coffee table. “I’m going to bed, anyways. Oh, and kid,” He made a move to walk away, but remembered something and paused. “The guest room across from mine is empty. Sleep there, not on the couch.”

Connor froze momentarily. “That was-” But he didn’t want to finish the sentence, not out loud. That guest room used to be Cole’s. It’d been almost completely emptied, only retaining the basic furniture, and Connor felt wrong ever going in there. “I can’t stay in there.”

“I’m telling you to.” Hank turned a little bit more and twinged a smirk. “Cole would want the best for you. Now go to bed, I’m serious.”

Hank left the living room and shut off the light as he left, leaving Connor in the dark. It was darker than it should be, until he realized that he’d had his LED pried out, and that was the missing light. Sumo noticed his discomfort and licked his cheek, nudging him. Connor breathed a laugh and stood, having to shimmy his way around the dog.

The house was dark and silent, but it was a different silence than before. It was a sleepy, contented silence, something warm and comforting rather than eerie and threatening. Connor gave Sumo a pat on the head, a thanks for his help, and headed off to bed.


	2. Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus meets with our anxiety boy, Kara loves her family very much. That’s all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this seems late or like a filler - I just wanted to get this out there. Tbh, I’ve been distracting myself from writing his by watching Bryan Dechart’s Twitch stream, which is both contradictory and hilarious, but it’s done now.   
> Man I wanna go to E3 so bad :,(

Painting, Markus supposes, is deviant behavior.

Now, don't get him wrong - he doesn't think about things in terms of deviant or not deviant. In fact, Markus didn't even like using the word. It made it sound like something was wrong with them.

But painting... painting felt free. It was a different behavior altogether. Of course, Markus had trouble finding time to actually paint something, but when he did it was all the more liberating.

"Markus!" Simon popped his head into the doorway, jolting Markus' attention and making him almost smear red paint. "Sorry. Connor's here."

Markus sighed and set down his palette while Connor stepped into the room. "Alright. Thanks Simon."

The door shut with an echoing _bang_. Markus sat back down on his stool, spinning around to face Connor. For a minute, they just stared at each other. Markus felt rage bubble up inside him at seeing the absence of his LED, and Connor was nothing but ashamed as he studied his shoes.

"Sit down," Markus ordered. Or rather, asked, but sometimes his words came out as demanding. Connor hastily grabbed a chair and sat across from Markus, still keeping his head down submissively.

"I'm sorry-" Connor started.

"Don't do that." Markus scowled. He looked for any sign that he was dangerous, any time twinge of a smirk or any maliciousness in his eyes. But there was nothing in those dark eyes. It was as if he was an obedient Android again, empty of a soul and simply there to _be_.

As the silence stretched on, Markus realized he was making Connor nervous. His hand fiddled with something in his pocket, and his teeth chewed down on his lip. "You're not in trouble, Connor." Markus said, his voice a shock to the quiet. "Why did you remove your LED?"

Finally, Connor looked up. His eyes were narrowed slightly, confused as to why Markus had to ask. "So I'm not attacked."

Markus wondered if it was possible to reattach LEDs. Then he shook his head and moved on. "Do you know why I asked you to visit, Connor?"

Connor didn't make any movements.

"You do. Obviously because of the accusations. I don't think I need to really explain myself, but you- I want to hear what you have to say." Markus sat forward on the stool and twisted the paintbrush between his fingers. "Tell me about the assassination attempts first."

But Connor still looked just as lost, not knowing exactly what to say. "I- you know the first one. I was ordered to take out the deviant leader."

Markus shook his head. "No. I mean what happened from _your_ perspective."

This time, Connor met his eyes. He was surprised, shocked really, that Markus was concerned about his viewpoint. His eyes flickered with that familiar living light. "I was conflicted," He admitted, shifting on his seat. "I knew I didn't want to kill you. But I couldn't stop myself until you- said whatever you said."

So then he really didn't have any control. That left one more issue. "And the second time?"

Connor went back to looking uncomfortable as soon as he said it. "I..." He muttered, almost too quiet for Markus to hear. "I didn't want to say anything. Because I would lose your trust. But- I've already lost that." He breathed a bitter laugh and met Markus' mismatched eyes. "My deviancy was planned. My creators intended for me to deviate, they intended for the rebellion to happen. They meant to make me kill you when I thought I'd been free from them."

Markus stayed still and calm, but something inside him twisted. That couldn't be right. "So you can never be free from them?" He ignored the part about the rebellion having been supposed to happen.

Connor paused, probably wondering the same thing. "I shut down Amanda's program when I used the emergency exit, put there by Kamski. Long story," He shook his head. "But I'd stopped Amanda and my creators - I think that's when I actually deviated. They didn't expect me to be able to break free."

"But you aren't free." Markus pointed out. "You attacked Hank. They hacked into you again."

"I know you already don't trust me, but I think that was the last time." Connor lowered his voice, obviously conflicted on what came out of his mouth. "Amanda's program is being destroyed, and the engineers that'd made me are going to prison for life. I don't think I'll be controlled again."

Markus considered this. It certainly wasn't trustworthy, not even in the slightest. But Markus wanted so badly to believe that everyone was wrong, that Connor was in control. "Can you say with absolute positivity that you're in your right mind?"

Connor laughed at that. Not a great sign. "I used to consider deviancy out of the right mind. By your perspective, probably not. But no one has hacked into me, and at this moment there couldn't be any way for them to get to me."

Markus paused at the last thing. "Why not? Why couldn't they get to you now?"

"Oh." Connor only then seemed to notice he'd said that. "When I was in the Garden, Amanda said she'd only been able to get to me since my systems were weakened. If I'm in complete working shape, I don't see how I could be hacked."

Markus thought he understood that, and it lessened his worries a bit. As long as Connor isn't attacked or damaged again, they should be fine. "Good. Because there's something else important that I wanted to speak to you about."

Connor swallowed and went back to fiddling in his pocket.

"There's an event coming up this Thursday," Markus began, not paying attention to the other's nervousness. "Both as a fundraiser for the organization and a day to remember. You know what the significance is, don't you?" But Connor shook his head, and so Markus continued. "It was when Cyberlife used to showcase their newest models and display them for the public."

Markus pretended not to notice the way Connor stiffened at that. "I was there."

Markus clapped his hands together and stood, startling Connor so severely he almost fell of his chair. "Great. All the more reason for you to attend."

"I can't-" Connor looked up with an adamant frown. "I can't go to that. Everyone hates me, I'll- I'll be attacked again and this will have gotten us nowhere."

"I'll be there." Markus grabbed Connor's arm and made him stand. "And the rest of us from Jericho, too."

"Exactly." Connor adjusted his shirt. "Everyone will be there. I'm in no position to go to that."

"You are." Markus reassured. "Don't think about it in the way you are. I'm going to be there with you, no one will try to kill you if I'm there too." He patted his back roughly and walked to the door. "I just wanted to check in and make sure you come to the rally. You're in?"

"Doesn't look like I have a choice," Connor huffed, walking to the door too. Markus nodded gratefully as he left. The door shut with a _bang_.

The painting sat now lonely and dormant on its canvas. The colors, though bright and harsh, lost their meaning without the passion that'd strewn them across the white background. Markus stared at it, studied it, straining to feel the deviancy of the piece. The feeling was gone. He turned out of the room and made a mental note to call Carl about it later.

—————————

Kara heard about the rally only two days before it was to happen.

They'd already somewhat settled into their new home, just outside Toronto. No one had ever suspected they were more than just the everyday human family, the three of them renting out a cozy apartment in the suburbs. When Alice begged for a dog, raving about one she saw on the street, they got a small beagle named Boris. Alice started school twenty days into their new life, insisting she wanted to start right away. Kara feared for her, but Luther reassured - besides, the two of them were so nervous they waited around the area near the school just about the whole day.

It was a Tuesday, a quiet Tuesday, when Kara got a call. She'd been at her desk, filling out paperwork to create somewhat of a résumé to clean people's houses. Boris sat in his bed beside her desk.

"Hello?" She picked up the phone, not glancing at the caller ID while she worked. The voice that greeted her made her stop writing, though.

"Kara. It's Markus."

"Oh." She set down her pen and sat back in the chair. "Markus, what's the matter?"

He paused. She glanced to make sure he was still on the line. "I know I have no right to ask you to do this, and you're happy in your new life, but... there's a rally this Thursday, at the old convention center in Detroit." He hurried to explain himself, probably nervous as to what Kara thought. "It's completely safe. I have guards posted at every entrance, and I'll be there with the Jericho members. A lot of people are attending, so I understand if you don't want to come..."

Kara thought about it. She knew they weren't that busy, but Luther might have to call in to work. And she didn't doubt it would be a good experience, but... "I'd love to go. I'm going to check with Alice and make sure she's comfortable with it."

"Great." Markus breathed a sigh of relief. "I'd love to see you there. You have my number to call back? I have to go."

"Yes, I'll call you back."

And the line ended. Kara sat forward in her chair again and put the pen to the paper.

Alice got home two hours later, it being Luther's turn to pick her up. When they got back, Kara already had games on the table - most days they played board games while other families would have dinner. First she listened to Alice’s school stories, but it had apparently been quite an unmemorable day. Luther saw the look on Kara’s face and paused mid-roll in their current game of Monopoly.

“What is it?” He asked, steady-voiced but curious. Alice looked up too, then, and Kara found no way to delay it.

“Markus called.” She said, sitting back in her chair. “He said there was an Android Rights rally in the old convention center in Detroit. He wants us to come.”

“Let’s go!” Alice said instantly. A weight lifted off Kara’s shoulders, and Luther smiled. “You think those people from Jericho will be there?”

“Markus said they will be.” Kara couldn’t keep her smile away, either. “So you want to go?”

“Yes!” Alice exclaimed. And it was decided. They finished their game (Luther won by a landslide, like always), packed for the trip, and went to bed. Kara called back Markus and told him the news, and Markus in turn said he’d keep a room open for them at the church, and they were welcome to stay as long as they wanted. Kara thanked him, hung up, and crawled into bed to power down for the night.


End file.
